Cold soy bean noodle (콩국수)

I have been to Boon-dahng which is not far from Seoul. A 30 minute-drive when traffic is not bad. My foodie friend who is a local there brought me to a place where you see just a few things on menu. They basically do Cold soy bean noodle (콩국수 [kong-guk-su]) and noodle soup ( 칼국수 [kal-guk-su] : direct translation is "kinfe noodle" which means hand-cut noodle.) They look so plain and simple, but it takes  effort, time and skill to make them from scratch. The result is a profound and pure flavor.

Making the base for soy bean noodles is quite similar to tofu. The one I tried was very nutty. I guess they added peanuts and pine nuts when making the soup base. All you need to eat this is good pinch of sea salt, fresh cucumber and Kimchi. It is served very cold. I am so much intrigued that I will try to make my own when I go back home.

my current addictions

Something sweet and salty, soft and chewy...

Freshly baked Angpang's cream cheese-white bean paste buns.

Freshly baked sweet and salty cheddar cheese bagel balls.

Koreanized pasta

I was happy to eat some Koreanized pastas

-hot pot style (Jjigae 찌게)- in Seoul. 

They are  somewhat soupy, spicy and very very hot. 

Seafood pasta (Frutti di mare)

Paella. I was satisfied to find rice crust on the bottom.

Noo-roongy-pasta in a hot earthenware has sizzling rice crust on the bottom. The rice crust has nicely browned and developed a chewy, crunch texture. The pasta is brothy, almost like noodle soup. 

Very interesting! 

What I love the most about Korean pastas is that al-dente is a default setting. It is so hard to find melt-in-your-mouth pasta here. Instant Ra-myun (ramen) is the number one comfort and convenient food in Korea.  Everybody naturally conditioned their al-dente palate for noodles. Of course you can find more authentic pastas too.

Artisee bakery in Seoul